Take away the miseries and you take away some folks' reason for living.

The story is a piece of work. The novel is a way of life.

I try to live [the Golden Rule] and I certainly expect it of some particular others. But I'll be damned if I want most folk out there to do unto me what they do unto themselves.

Old folks are the nation.

... in a capitalist society a man is expected to be an aggressive, uncompromising, factual, lusty, intelligent provider of goods,and the woman, a retiring, gracious, emotional, intuitive, attractive consumer of goods.

It's a dismally lonely business, writing.

An artist represents an oppressed people and makes revolution irresistible.